pintarle un cuatro a uno

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fuzzybunnyjihad

New Member
USA, English
Hello. There is this idiom that I'm having trouble figuring out. It is "pintarle un cuatro a uno." The first place I encountered it was in the song El Coyote: "Le pinte' un cuatro al coyote, y me fui para la sierra." My dictionaries have been no help. Any suggestions?
 
    • A painting wouldn't make sense. Here's the first stanza of thesong, maybe it might be clearer:
    le pinte un cuatro al coyote
    y me fui para la sierra
    el coyote era un bandido
    nacido haya por mi tierra
    lo conoci desde niño
    fuimos juntos a la escuela..
     
    That is a very famous mexican song by Jose Alfredo Jimenez.

    I found this this in wikipedia and explains it very well.

    " What the author of the song is saying by "Le Pinte Un Cuatro Al Coyote" is he is blessing the dead man upon his feet. El Coyote - is a nickname.

    The song starts how the story ended and then explains why he killed him....and by saying that he is making the cross with the motion of the hand..(If you've seen it...it appears like a number 4...but is a cross of blessing)..which is very traditional in the mexican culture. - Marcos Rosas from Tucson AZ.

    EL COYOTE
    José Alfredo Jiménez (Mexico)


    Le pinte un cuatro a Coyote
    y me fui para la sierra
    el coyote era un bandido
    nacido allá por mi tierra
    lo conocí desde niño
    fuimos juntos a la escuela.
     
    Last edited by a moderator:
    Ya tiene nombre = She's already reserved (has a name - his name - she's mine)

    Ya tenia cita con ella = I already has a date with her.
     
    fuzzybunnyjihad said:
    Hello. There is this idiom that I'm having trouble figuring out. It is "pintarle un cuatro a uno." The first place I encountered it was in the song El Coyote: "Le pinte' un cuatro al coyote, y me fui para la sierra." My dictionaries have been no help. Any suggestions?
    Click to expand...
    When you go to a Mexican's funeral, sometimes the priest says you can pick up a little sand and make the sign of the cross on the deceased's coffin. It is a 4, cuatro. And you apply it like a sand painting. So I take it that "le pinte un cuatro al coyote" means he is marked for burial.
     
    fuzzybunnyjihad said:
    I appreciate the replies. Is this strictly a Mexican saying?
    Click to expand...
    This is probably purely Northern Mexican probably incorporates a little Native American custom too, very machisimo stuff. He buried the Coyote and rode off into the mountains. Then the rest is the story all the way to putting a bullet in this sneaky bastard's forehead!
     
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